The Promise
by SilverPedals1402
Summary: The three instances where Tony and Pepper met before that day on the roof. It all started with a simple promise. -Pepperony and tons of cuteness!
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry for not getting to my other stories, I swear I'm working on them! I've started baby Phase and plan to do something for Is this goodbye? and possible something else! But I found this idea to sweet and cute to pass by! And on the plus side, for size wise, I'm positive about there only being at tops, 4 chapters! At least, 2 or 3. So yeah, and they're pretty short, but super cuter as well...i hope.**

**Disclaimer: I think we all get that I don't own IMAA...**

* * *

There has been three instances where Tony and Pepper met before they truly met on the roof.

* * *

Note: Tony and Pepper are about 4 years old. Maybe five.

**(First Time)**

The blue eyed boy giggled as he kicked his feet in front of him, without bending his knees. His hand tightly closed around his mother's hand. He stumbled a bit, but his mother's grip held him up.

She laughed at her son's antics. "Careful, I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Her son smiled. "I won't mommy," He promised. "You know why? Because, you're here!"

She laughed as she turned the corner, directing her son with her. "I won't let anything happen to you, you know that right, Tony?"

Tony smiled, his bright blue eyes shining. "All the time!"

A happy squealing noise made the young boy smile in excitement. He was going to the park. His mommy said so too. She said it was a treat for behaving nicely at a dinner thing with daddy's friends. So, he got to go to the park!

His mother let go of his hand when they arrived. He was instantly running off to go play on the large playground. The park was empty except for a little girl with red hair who was digging in the sand. At the time being, he hadn't paid any attention to her, for he was too excited checking out all the slides and tunnels.

He was going down a slide when he noticed her. The redhead who he'd seen earlier was standing a little ways away from the slide, her hands behind her back shyly. She watched curiously at the little boy laughed as he went down the slide. She stared with her head tilted to the side as he went to go on the slide again.

When he noticed she was still watching him, he raced over next to her. "Hi."

She made a small noise and looked away. "Sorry, daddy says it's not nice to stare…"

"I don't mind." Tony said, smiling.

The little girl nervously grabbed at the bottom of her pink strawberry patterned dress. "So, wanna play?"

"Sure," The little boy said. "I'm Tony!"

"Oh, I'm Pepper!"

The two ran off their hands intertwined. Pepper showed him the sand castles she made and he shown her the cool tricks her learned how to do on the slide. Such as go one his belly and laying down. They played until it was time to go.

"Play again soon?" Pepper asked.

Tony nodded. "Yeah!"

"Promise?" She asked, her face serious.

"Promise." He promised.

"No, you have to pinky promise!" She demanded holding out her pinky.

He smiled widely and took the pinky in his. "Pinky Promise."

She ran to follow her mother who had brought her there. And Tony to his own mother.

"I made a new fwiend!"

His mother laughed. "I noticed! Isn't she just a cutie?"

He nodded his head. "We're going to play again soon, I pinky promised!"

…

Not long later the two met up at the park again. It was either pure luck, or someone was secretly helping them two. Tony didn't care, all he cared was that he got to see that pretty girl, Pepper again. Just like he promised.

"Tony!" Her voice shouted happily.

"Hi Pepper!" He shouted back as she joined him on the swings.

"Mommy said I can come play here whenever I want!" Pepper bragged.

Tony smiled. "Lucky!"

The two continued to play. Smiling and laughing as they did so. They built stuff in the sand and went on the slides together. They played tag and hide and seek together as well as Marco and Polo, that Pepper taught Tony to play.

They were sitting under the playground equipment together, the little redhead, burying the black haired boy. When she finished, all that was left was Tony's face. He smiled at her.

"How do I look?" he asked, flashing his teeth.

She giggled. "Like a sandman!"

He then started to roar and push himself out of his barrier of sand. Pepper pretended to be scared and ran around as Tony chased her around the playground. They found themselves sitting in the sand once more, but right under the sun's beams.

"Tony?" Pepper's voice was soft.

"What is it?" He asked, his hands picked up sand.

"When I grow up," She paused for a second to smile. "I want to marry you!"

Tony stared for a moment, before smiling wide. "Me too!"

She frowned. "You can't marry yourself, doofus!"

He shook his head, laughed. "No, I meant when I get older, I want to marry you too!"

She gasped and stared at him surprised. "Really?"

He nodded. "Really!"

"Promise?"

He held out his pinky. "Pinky promise!"

She hooked her pinky on his and giggled. "We'll have so much fun together!"

"Yeah!"

"I'll be the one that cooks, you can do the lawn!" Pepper said happily. "And I'll do the laundry and you can be the one who has a job!"

Tony nodded. "Yeah, I can do all the math that we need!"

"We can have three kids!"

He nodded. "Yeah, I want one to be a girl and her name be Maria, just like my mommy!"

"I want a girl too! So two girls names Maria and Jennifer, and one boy named…" Pepper put a finger on her lips in thought.

"Joey?"

"No I don't like that name, how about John?" She asked.

Tony smiled giving the redhead a thumbs up. "I love that one! Maria, Jennifer, and John will be our three kids!"

"Can we have a puppy?" Pepper asked.

Tony nodded.

And for the rest of that day at the park, they planned out their perfect future together. Making sure not to leave any detail out. They picked and named pets, chose where they were going to live (well, the general area), chose who was going to do what chore, and what their kids were going to grow up as.

…

"Have a good day today?" Maria asked her son, noticing his cheerful mood as they left.

"Yep!" Tony replied, joyfully. "Me and Pepper are going to get married!"

Maria looked at her son surprised. "Are you now?"

"Yep, and we're going to have 3 kids: Maria, Jennifer, and John. Also we're going to buy two puppies! And…" he continued his story on what he and his future wife planned for their future together.

Maria smiled happily. Boy did her son have some imagination.

**Awww! Aren't they just the cutest!? I just love Pepperony! XD It's so cute and fun to write!**

**Hope you guys liked it! I know i did at least, I definitely had fun writing it! :D**

**Fun Fact: _When I stretch, I tend to make weird noises...XD  
_**

**I got this idea from this other fanfic i remembered reading a long time ago, and even of the year I followed this boy around because he was so nice to me even after my only friend at that school 'unfriended' me because apparently drawing a heart on my paper was copying her because she was wearing a heart on her shirt... :( She did that A LOT. But he was nice and hung out with me a bunch to keep me happy! :) But he moved away...as did i.**

**_Well, I hope you guys liked it! I'll try to update it soon, but Friday-Sunday I have family coming to visit and two girls my age will be coming so, and a festival type thing is in town so you might not see much of me this weekend..._**

**_Hugs and Loves for all!  
_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry that this took longer than I thought it would, but here it is! :D It's pretty long too! So YAY! :)  
**

**Okay, so theres been a little mix up of things...heh well some of you noticed that there is only 'two' instances on that last chapter, but I assure you that whole chapter was only ONE instance. This is only ONE instance, so that means so far there is TWO instances, there is still ONE more to go! :D Then maybe a little epilogue type deal.**

**Disclaimer: No, just no! I won't do it! ...No!...Still won't...FINE! IMAA is NOT mine!**

The now 7 year old redhead swung her feet back and forth as she sat in the chair. Her hands clasped together in her lap. Her eyes downcast towards her swinging feet. She fidgeted in her seat. She hated the silence. The silence hurt. Her dad insisted that silence wouldn't hurt anyone, but he wasn't her. He could live in silence for all she cared. Silence hurt.

It reminded her too much of _her. _

"Patricia, I don't see why you're so upset!" Her dad's voice spoke, breaking the painful silence. "I would have left you home with the babysitter, but she called in sick."

She turned and stuck her tongue out at her dad, giving him no other response. At least she wasn't ignoring him this time, he said to stop, and so she might as well give some kind of signal that she was listening.

She could hear her dad sigh. "Patricia, you act as if you're in trouble, but you're not. What's wrong, you're normally happy to come to work with me?"

She just defiantly shook her head, 'hmphing' while she was at it.

He sighed again.

She just brought her knees to her chest and buried her face into her knees. She closed her eyes, hoping for sleep. Maybe he'll leave her alone if she pretended to be asleep. Or actually fell asleep, either way was fine with her.

She could hear her dad trying to get her attention and make her feel better, but after a bit, he gave up. It wasn't long until she started to feel bad for how she was treating her dad. He was trying his best, the best a single dad could do.

The sound of a door opening and shutting caught her attention, throwing her thoughts out the window.

"I'm sorry, son, but I don't have time to play," A business sounding voice, sounded from behind the half open and half closed door. "I have work to do, why don't you go find something else to do."

A boy appeared through the door, a hand only slightly guiding him out of the room. The boy stumbled, he his hands reaching out so he didn't trip.

The boy grumbled something and just stood there, unsure of what he was supposed do. The redhead watched as the boy glanced around the room, his arms hugging himself. She almost immediately remembered him. But she couldn't remember a name.

She wanted to call out to him, but he looked as if he would run off somewhere if someone started shouting at him.

Instead she pulled on her dad's sleeve. "Daddy, who's that boy?"

Maybe her dad knew. "I don't know, but I think that might be Howard Stark's boy." Her dad whispered down to her.

She watched as he practically side stepped to the secretary desk, making sure his eyes never left those who were watching him from the waiting room. He quickly turned around and started conversing with the woman her dad spoke to not too long ago.

_Howard Stark. _Wasn't that the name of the man her and her dad were going to meet? She didn't know much about the man, except that he was rich and smart. He also had a pretty looking wife, but Pepper only saw her once on the TV.

A hand tapped her shoulder and she looked up at her dad. "It's not polite to stare, Patricia."

"Dad, it's Pepper," She replied, "And I'm not staring, he looks familiar."

The redhead, Pepper, ignored her dad's words and continued to watch as the boy sat on a chair next to the secretary woman, looking only a tiny bit happier than he did moments ago. Whatever the woman next to him was doing on that computer of hers, must be pretty interesting.

She began kicking her legs out again, bored once again. The boy was no longer fun to watch when he was just sitting there. Now it was a boring old waiting room again. She sighed.

The door the boy came out of opened once more and the secretary woman, who must have went in there when she wasn't looking called out her dad's name. He grabbed her hand and pulled her along as he went to go into the room.

"No kids allowed," A scratchy, old sounding voice said from within the doors.

"You just wait out here, Patricia." Her dad said, "I won't be long."

Before the door shut, Pepper was able to see three people through the doors. A bald, old guy who looked like grumpy on a bad day, the secretary woman who was leaving, and the man she knew as Howard Stark. Then the door was shut on her.

She looked back to her seat, where she was doomed to be for the rest of the long afternoon. The one other time that her dad had to be in a meeting like this, his 'short' visit turned out to be six hours long when it turned out he was investigating some criminal, who was posing as some famous dude. The rest of the details, she wasn't told.

She liked when she went to the fun part of her dad's job. Where she could see him at shooting practice or in fight training. That was fun, sitting in a waiting room was not.

She went to go sit down on the dreadfully uncomfortable chair, when she felt a slight tap on her arm. She looked over, the familiar looking boy stood next to her. A shy smile on his face. She waited for him to say something, being patient as he scratched the top of his head.

"Hey, you looked bored, want to hang out?" The boy asked.

She looked at him closely, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar. "Sure, why not."

He smiled. "I'm Tony!"

She smiled back, politely. "I'm Pepper."

"Cool name, I love it!"

Pepper couldn't help but blush. "Thank you, you have a nice name too."

He nodded and held out his hand, "Come with me, I want to show you something."

"Okay." She said, taking his hand.

…

Pepper was led into a room that was locked by keypad. She held tightly onto Tony's hand so she didn't lose him as he rushed through isles of what she guessed were storage shelves. He led her to the corner of the room where there was another locked room, which he opened via keypad. She opened her mouth to ask him if he was supposed to do that, but he already tugged her through the door.

The door lead to a similar room to the last only, this room, the shelves were a little fuller. Tony snaked his way through the isles once more. She stumbled behind him as she tried to keep up with his pace. He seemed awfully excited for what he was about to show her.

He led her to an empty corner. There wasn't even a locked door there. The only thing there was an air vent.

"Are we going through there?" She asked, gesturing to the air vent."

"Of course we are!" Tony said, smiling softly. "It's the only way to get there, the room is my secret room."

"Are you sure we're allowed to do this?"

Tony looked like he was thinking hard for a moment. "Nah, its fine! I do this all the time!"

She looked at him skeptically. But shrugged and went along with it as he led her into the air vents. He led the way to a turn in the air vents that were exceptionally big. Not too far more, did they find themselves to a drop off that Tony said led into the room.

When he suddenly jumped down the drop off, she was quick to worry. Had he just hurt himself? "Tony!?"

"I'm fine!" He called up to her. "Just wait a sec, I'll find something to cushion your fall."

She blinked. Did he really expect her to jump? She wasn't that stupid. She knew that a fall like that, should hurt something and she wouldn't be surprised if Tony was hurt. His voice called to her telling her that it was cushioned. She sighed nervously. She trusted him right?

"Okay!" She shouted down, "I-I'm going to jump!"

"Alright, I'm waiting!" Tony shouted back.

"Okay, here I come!" She said, as she closed her eyes and jumped.

She was surprised to find that the bottom was cushioned with pillows and blankets. Which softened her fall. She smiled, finding that she actually enjoyed it.

"Fun right?" Tony asked, helping her out.

She nodded. "Yeah!"

He gestured to the room around them. "This, is my secret room."

She stared around herself, shocked. Around them, was what looked like a bedroom/living room. There was a small bed in the corner, a table next to it, with a lamp on it. A couch sat in the opposite corner of the bed. A TV not too far away. A dresser like desk, was against the wall, with pictures and more pictures atop it. A large mirror resided on most of the open wall.

"This is your _secret _room?" She asked, appalled. "How does no body know about this?"

Tony looked down at his feet sadly. Pepper felt a bit bad, feeling as if she brought up a bad memory for him. But he smiled over at her his eyes watery, even though she was sure he didn't notice them. "They do know about it."

She blinked. "Then why is it called secret?"

"Well, they know about it, but nobody is supposed to go in here. Not even to clean it." Tony replied sadly. "But, I'm always told to go find something to do, because my dad's to busy, and everyone stares at me because of who my dad is. So, I come here, because nobody would think I was in here."

Pepper listened on as he went and sat down on the couch.

"You see, this room was my mommy's in a matter a speaking." He continued. "Dad made it just for her when she refused to go home when he had to work all night, which was often. So, he made this room. She practically lived in here until I was born."

Pepper could tell that he was close with his mom. But she was worried that something might have happened to her, since he seemed so sad.

"When I was born, she brought me in here to play with her until dad got off of work. Then we'd go home as a family," Tony paused for a moment. "But she died…in a car accident…"

Pepper's eyes widened and she moved to sit next to him. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be…" Tony paused then continued his story. "I was 5 years old. She was going to take me to the park again later that day, but she had to get groceries first. On the way home, she was in a car accident."

Pepper noticed him wipe away some tears before he continued. "Ever since that day, my dad became pretty distant, he stopped working for almost two weeks and was ready to quit it all, but he had a sudden change in mood and hardly stopped working for weeks on end. I was left alone at home for almost a week until he came to his senses to get a babysitter. When he finally got over it enough to take me to work with him, he banned anyone and everyone from going into this room. Including me."

It reminded Pepper a lot about her dad, only he locked himself up in his office than at work. She was sent off to school, without a goodbye, or hug. Her dad was pretty depressed after her mother's death.

"But I wouldn't listen. After it was locked up pretty solidly, I had to find a way to get in there, because it was the one place that I found peaceful in this place. The one place that I could truly call home here. And I wasn't about to let my dad's grief stop me. So I've come here every time I miss my mommy."

She felt awkward and out of place the instant he started crying. But she felt an odd sense that she was supposed to comfort him. Like she was supposed to make him feel better. So she did what she knew best, from her dad doing it. She hugged him.

She noticed his sobbing stopped the instant she put her arms around him. So she squeezed her arms around him even more. She heard him sniffle as he tried to stop his crying. His arms went around her, looking for comfort.

"My mommy died too." Pepper practically blurted out. "She was sick."

Tony backed away from her. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Pepper said, smiling softly.

Then Tony shocked her, when he started to laugh. He actually started to laugh! He stood up and held his hand out to her to help her up. She almost laughed herself

"C'mon, I came here to show you something, not to cry." Tony said.

She stood up and watched as he went digging around in some drawers. He must have found what he was looking for because he came up, his hands shut tightly around whatever it was he was looking for.

Pepper watched him curiously as he smiled at her. He walked over to her and held on of his hand out as if he was going to give her something. She reached her own arm to receive it. Then he dropped a small item into her hand.

She pulled her hand back to see what it was, and gasped. In her palm was a ring. A simple ring that was silver and was just simply a ring with no decor. She looked up at Tony who smiled at her.

"Why'd you give me a ring?" She asked. "I don't even know you, that much."

_Despite that fact that he looks awfully familiar_, she thought to herself.

"Actually, you do." Tony said happily then smirked, "Do the names Maria, Jennifer, and John ring a bell?"

Pepper stared for a moment and thought. They did sound familiar. "Yeah, actually they do. Some boy and I said that those would be our kids, but how do you…" Her voice broke off as she stared, wide eyed, at the smirking boy.

"Tony?" She whispered, then blinked, still shocked. That's why he looked so familiar! He was that boy! That same boy, she wanted to marry when she got older! That same boy, whom she played with at the park all of two times! "YOU'RE HIM!" She squealed.

He smiled. "And you're her!" He replied.

"I can't believe I forgot!" Pepper nearly shouted.

Memories of that day flooded back into her head. The boy she thought was so cute, the boy who she found so interesting because he seemed to love the park even more than her. He seemed so fond of the slide, which he had to go on it as many times before he had to go. The same boy she made promise that they'd play again sometime. The same exact boy who she planned her future with. Her future with three kids, two puppies, a big house, and a list of chores.

"You forgot?" Tony asked, frowning ever so slightly.

She blinked, not realizing that he hadn't known she'd forgotten. "Yeah, but I knew you looked familiar!"

She was worried that he was going to take the ring and run away angrily, but instead he smiled. "I figured you did, when I had to introduce myself again."

She smiled. "Yeah, I guess that would have given me away."

"Anyways," Tony said showing her his own ring that matched hers. "We still on?"

"Still on for what?" She asked.

He lightly punched her arm. "To get married! Are we still going to get married?"

She smiled. "Yeah, definitely!"

Tony laughed and hugged her. "And that's why I love you!"

She laughed herself, "And I you."

"But you have to promise!" Tony said holding his pinky out.

She laughed, remembering. "Pinky promise."

…

Later that day, when Pepper returned home with her dad, her very angry dad, she was thinking about Tony who promised that he'd find out where she lived so he could see her. Her mind drifting away from her ranting dad who was scolding her for walking away with someone she didn't know.

Apparently his meeting wasn't as long as she thought and if she guessed right, he was out of the meeting with Howard Stark by the time she jumped down the air vent. Her dad noticed she was missing and hadn't only gone to the bathroom. After he was informed by the secretary woman that she had run of with Howard Stark's son Howard was involved in the search for the kids.

After almost an hour of searching, since Tony and Pepper decided to hang out a bit, they found them, walking around hallways in the lower levels of the building when Tony decided to give Pepper a tour.

Not only was her dad mad, but so was his, but even though they were both mad, she could see that they both were worried.

Even though it hadn't been a days since their meeting together, Pepper already missed him, but knowing him, he wasn't going to let her be for too long. Especially knowing that he promised he would find her. And so far, he hasn't broken his promises.

**AWWW! Isn't that just cute! Don't know how much you guys are going to like it, but I loved it! :D I thought it went well, considering!**

**Fun Fact: _As far as I know, I actually might be allergic to cats, but most likely not severely because my syptoms are nothing more than CONSTANT sneezing and itchy eyes, yeah nothing bad...;P_**

**Anyways, thanks for giving this a read! :D I'll most likely be working on that special chapter for Baby Phase next, that or The Elevator. Oh well, we'll just have to see! :D**

**Hugs and Love, SilverPedals!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I can't believe how long it took me to write this! This story was so much fun to write (It's not done yet) that I feel REALLY bad for not updating it sooner! I mean, I feel bad for every story that gets left behind for even just over two weeks. Seriously, you guys deserve better than that. *Sigh* I guess that's how life is going to have to be for all you guys who follow my stories...**

**When you guys read this, you will notice that some parts mess around and change a bunch of what happens on the first episode, and I hope that it was okay. **

**Disclaimer: IMAA is NOT mine, nothing is whatsoever except for the idea of the story I wrote!**

She ate her sandwich peacefully to herself, as she fidgeted with the ring on her finger. It was getting a bit small again; maybe it was time to get it fitted again. As simple as the ring was, it meant the world to her. It's been about 7 years since she last saw the boy who gave it to her. At least, 7 years in person. She sees him all over the news, in newspapers, on television, even on magazines.

The last she heard about him, was about 6 months ago. And 6 months ago, wasn't something she wanted to remember. That day, when she heard about the accident, she was devastated. Even though she hadn't seen the boy in 7 years, she still felt as if part of her world was taken from her. That is until a week later, it's stated that he was in fact, still alive. She must have been the happiest person alive.

There was rumors that he was supposed to be coming to school today. That he himself, was going with a friend of his, to her school. Which, was probably why her stomach was so upset all day.

She knew who the friend was too. James Rhodes, who likes to be called Rhodey. Rhodey is best friends with the boy she knew since she was little. His mother took him in after the incident and the two have been living together ever since.

The door to the roof opened, steering her away from her thoughts, and her lunch. She looked up, to see who it was. Maybe it was one of her friends who were coming to find her. Had she missed the bell?

No. When she looked up, she was surprised at who she found.

He wasn't looking at her, but to the sky, somewhere in the distance. He was leaning against the edge of the roof, seeming lost in his own thoughts already. She could tell he was upset about something, and who could blame him? After all, she could tell he was thinking long and hard about something, that wasn't happy.

She couldn't help but to gaze at him. His ebony hair as same as ever, blue eyes as lively as ever, and his whole stance, overall, was the same. She remembered the last time she saw him.

She was 9-years-old.

…

"_Are you sure about this?" The redhead asked, skeptically. _

_The blue eyed boy, scoffed. "Of course I am! Who do you think I am?"_

"_An idiot?" She offered. _

"_Hey!" The boy protested. "I'll have you know, that I built a car engine and a computer, all by myself!"_

"_Doesn't make you any less of an idiot." She teased. _

"_Pepper!"_

"_I'm sorry, Tony." She drawled out. "But that's how it has to be."_

_The blue eyed boy, pouted playfully as he grabbed the girl's hand. It was the middle of the night, so it was dark out, as he dragged her across the block. _

_The girl, Pepper, was skeptic about the whole idea. They had planned to secretly meet outside her house at midnight. Meaning, she had to sneak away from her house as he dad slept. It was just their luck that he was home and not on a mission on the day they planned this. Luckily, she was great at being stealthy. _

_After all of that, he demanded to bring her some place, she didn't even know! _

_She was incredibly tired, but the idea of going somewhere with Tony, without her dad's approval, was just thrilling. And she was definitely the one for adventure. So of course she accepted without a second thought. Though, as all rash decisions go, she was _now_ having second thoughts after the fact. _

_Maybe it was just the nervousness of the idea of being caught. _

"_Hurry up!" Tony urged her. "The light will change!"_

_She shook her head and nodded, rushing across the busy street with him. At least he knew how the street lights work, those things always confused her. _

"_Where are we going?" She asked, curious. _

"_Somewhere." Was the boy's only response. _

_She pouted, she hated being in the dark, but somehow she liked it when it came to him. He always knew how to surprise her; to make her smile. And she loved that. She loved that he was the only person who knew her enough to make her smile like she does. _

_Afar in the distance, she saw a field and some woods. A park was off to the side of the field. It took a moment for her eyes to completely adjust to the darkness of the area, to realize what that park was. It was the park they met at. _

_She smiled. "Tony, this is…"_

"_Shh!" The boy shushed her. _

_She instantly closed her mouth, trusting his judgment. If he wanted her to be quiet she would. If he wanted to her to be loud, then she would. She'd do anything for him. Whether or not she saw the reason behind his decision, she didn't care. She trusted the choices he made. _

_He led her quietly across the field and to the park. Only, he passed right by the park, and into the woods. She held tightly onto his hand as to make sure she didn't trip or get left behind. _

"_Try not to step too roughly." Tony told her. _

_She nodded. "Okay."_

_She lightened her steps and watched so she didn't step on to many leaves or twigs. She followed as quietly as she could as Tony led her through the woods. It was cold, but she was ever so grateful she decided to bring a sweater. Though, she felt kind of bad, because Tony wasn't wearing any kind of coat. _

_He stopped walking, so she stood still waiting for him to say something. He crouched down and looked at the base of the tree next to him. She did the same, wondering what he was seeing there. _

"_What is it?" She asked in a whisper. _

_He smiled at her and pointed. "Look."_

_She looked as he pulled some leaves out of the way. The instant he did that, Pepper gasped. A smile tugged against her lips as she looked into the little hole that was dug at the base of that tree. Inside that hole, laid a bunny along with two baby bunnies. _

_She couldn't stop smiling, as she stared at the three bunnies before her. Her heart swelled with happiness, as she watched them sleep. They looked so cozy and cute and warm. _

"_Tony!" She felt like she could just melt then and there. _

_She remembered that she had just told him the previous week that her favorite animals were bunnies. Especially baby bunnies. She found them just so cute, and so cuddly looking. _

"_I found them while I was playing with Rhodey." Tony whispered to her. _

_She tilted her head in curiosity and confusion. "Who's Rhodey?"_

_Tony smiled at laughed. "You haven't met Rhodey yet?" _

_She shook her head. _

"_He's my friend, I met him two years ago."_

"_Two years!?" Pepper whisper-shouted. "Why haven't I met him yet?"_

"_I don't get to see him much, his mom is a lawyer and my dad is a business man. And my mom is…" He paused, before smiling. "His dad is in the military."_

"_Oh, well I want to meet him."_

"_Okay, we'll do that another day."_

_Pepper looked down at the bunnies once more, wanting to pet them, but knowing she'd wake them. They were so cute and soft looking, she wanted to bring one home, but her dad was strict with the whole no pets thing. She'd have to respect his rules. _

"_I love them!" Pepper said smiling brightly, only to yawn at the end. _

"_Me too," Tony added. _

_He stood up and offered her his hand. She took it, giving him a tired smile. "You must be tired."_

"_No, I'm not tired at all." Pepper objected. _

_Tony rolled his eyes. "C'mon, even _I'm _tired."_

"_But I don't want to leave you."_

"_You won't be leaving me," Tony assured her. "I'll see you soon. Like maybe tomorrow if my dad changes his mind about bringing me to his meeting."_

_She nodded. "Okay."_

_He smiled and led her home again. _

_Once they arrived back at her house, he was holding her hand still when he smiled at her. _

"_Don't go, stay." Pepper insisted. _

_Tony smiled and leaned forward. "I have to." _

_He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She blushed. "I know."_

_She gasped and her whole face lit up. "Wait here! I'll be right back!"_

_He blinked as she ran quietly back to her house. He waited patiently out in her front yard. It didn't take long for her to come out holding something in her hands. She had a bright smile on her face as she bounced happily in front of him. _

_He looked to her hand, to see that she was holding a marker. "What's that?"_

"_A marker." She stated. _

"_I can see that, what's if for?" _

_She uncapped the marker, and grabbed his arm. He struggled for a moment, not knowing what she was doing, but calmed down when he saw that she was trying to write something. He wasn't fond of the idea of marker being on his arm, but it was Pepper, he trusted her. _

_He watched as she wrote something, but when she noticed he was watching, she stood just in the right spot so he couldn't see. When she finished, she stepped away, presenting her work. _

_He smiled. On his arm, "_I love you" _was written across his inner forearm. _

_In response, he grabbed the marker and her own arm, and stepped so she couldn't see what he was writing. He glanced back over his shoulder, "Promise me that your dad won't kill me for this?"_

_She giggled. "Promise."_

_He began to write. It took a bit longer, saying that he has horrible handwriting, and he was trying to make it neat. Though, when he finished, he was glad that he took his time. _

_He stepped away, presenting his own work to the redhead. _

_She smiled. "_I love you too" _was written across her own inner forearm. _

"_Thanks!" _

_He shrugged. "Don't thank me," He chuckled. "It was your idea."_

_She punched him lightly in the arm. "Then, Thanks for going along with it, you idiot."_

_He smiled as she began to step away, only before she did that, she hopped up and kissed him on the cheek. Then she backed away quickly, receding back to her door. _

_Tony cupped his hands in front of his mouth, and whisper shouted, "By the way, I love the Pajama's!"_

_She blushed and looked down to her pink pajamas with ponies across the front and not to mention the hearts that were scattered everywhere. "Gift from my dad."_

_Tony chuckled. "You should see what my dad got for me!" _

"_I'd love to see them, then I can laugh at you!"_

_Tony rolled his eyes. "Love you, Pep."_

_She smiled. "Love you too."_

…

That was the last time she saw him in person. After that night, Tony left for a week long 'vacation' with his dad. He wasn't even able to say goodbye, and by the time he got back, Pepper and her dad had actually moved. Her dad was transferred somewhere across the country.

She felt horrible and empty ever since. They had to change their number and everything, dropping all contact that they had with Tony. She could remember how mad she was at her dad. She felt that it was all his fault, and that he was punishing her for falling in love. She even remembered saying that she hated him a few times; she regretted doing so.

Then she moved back as of three years ago, but by then Tony had even moved. There was ways of finding him, sure, but it had been so long, that it seemed inappropriate to return to him. It hadn't felt right. So she let it go, and accepted that what they had was only temporary, and that he probably found somebody else.

A shift in the boy ahead of her, brought her out of her deep thoughts. He was now slouching over the edge of the roof, and gazing even more so deeply at someplace in the distance.

She looked at the time on her phone. The bell was about to ring in about 10 minutes or less. She looked to the blue eyed, ebony haired boy in front of her. It didn't look like he even noticed that she was even there.

She had to say something.

But what?

"Your dad used to work there." Pepper said, guessing that he was staring at Stark International.

She inwardly smiled as he jumped, startled. "Huh?"

"You're Tony Stark," She continued. "You used to work there too…"

"Who…?"

She smirked trying to hold back her excitement. She could see his face go from confusion to blank, then straight to recognition. She could no longer hold back as she dropped the remaining of her sandwich to the ground. She hopped down from her perch, so she was no standing about five feet away from him.

She held out her hand, unable to hold back a wide smile. "Pepper Potts."

"Pepper?" Tony asked, a smile appearing on his own lips.

They were both rendered speechless for the next few minutes as they stared at each other. Only, when they came to their senses, they both blushed madly, remembering their childhood. Tony took a slight step forward.

Pepper followed his steps. They were now about a foot away from each other.

She couldn't understand the feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. She understood that there was definitely a ton of butterflies, but she couldn't understand why she felt…scared. What was she afraid of?

Her breathing picked up, and she wondered if her heart was beating as fast as she thought it was.

Another step closer, and the only thing they had to do to touch each other, was lift their hands. Which was what Tony did. He grabbed her hand, the one with the ring on it, and stared at it. He brushed his fingers over it, before he showed that he still had his own.

It was as if time had frozen. Frozen in favor of giving the two all the time they needed to celebrate their reunion. She wanted time to freeze so bad. The need for time to freeze was deep in her bones, and branded into her mind. She desperately wished for longer time.

"Tony," She whispered, as if testing the name out again.

His hand still playing with her fingers, he smiled down at her. "I've missed you."

She ducked her face, hiding her face with her hair. "I've missed you too…"

It was awkward, meeting him again, but it was strangely…comforting. It was as if a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders; as if a burden was taken away from her, or even a gap was filled and fixed.

He pulled her closer, into a hug. It was hesitant, and unsure, but it was still a hug. It took her a moment, to hug back, reassuring him to hug her more. He did. He hugged her tightly against him, and she swore, she heard him give a slight sob.

He was crying?

Why was she even questioning that? She felt like bawling her eyes out.

The redhead felt him bury his face into her hair. "Why'd you leave me?"

She winced at the mention of her move. Of what broke them apart. Instead of replying, she tightened her hold on him.

"I thought I'd never see you again." He whispered into her hair.

"Oh Tony," She began. "I didn't want it to happen, my dad was transferred! And I lost your number! And I couldn't call you, and we had to change numbers! And he didn't even give me a chance to say goodbye! You were out of town and I couldn't…"

"Pepper," Tony piped up, pulled away from the hug, only slightly. "Calm down, I'm now mad."

Pepper took in deep breaths, for she had spoken that all in one breath. "Okay, I'm calm."

The two jumped as the warning bell rang for the next hour.

Pepper instantly stepped away from Tony, feeling full of panic. Her chest tightened, though her breath sped up. Her eyes were wide, and she looked to Tony, who looked just a bit calmer than she felt.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, we're fine."

"We'll be late," Pepper started. "I can't be late, but I don't want to leave you…I can't…"

"Then don't," Tony said. "I'm not going anywhere…Well, except for class."

"But I don't want to be away from you again."

She couldn't understand why she felt so panicked. Her mind kept telling her not to go, because if she did, she'd never see him again. But her logic told her that he actually _wasn't _going anywhere. Though, the panic grew, making her really not want to go.

"Then choose." Tony said. "I don't mind being late, I don't mind staying up here, it's up to you."

She bit her lip, but ultimately, she knew what she was going to choose. She basically flew into his arms, startling not only herself, but him as well. "I'll stay."

She both felt and heard him chuckle as he practically carried her to the edge of the roof where they sat down.

She hugged his arm, as they started to talk. It took them a good hour to get fully reacquainted, and even then, it still felt like they didn't know anything, yet they felt like they knew everything about the other. At least, everything that was important. Pepper got to see and check out the heart implant. She didn't like the sight, but it was still very fascinating.

After the bell rang signaling that last period had started, the two were standing, gazing over New York together.

Tony glanced over at Pepper. "So," He smirked. "We still on?"

She gasped lightly, remembering the promise they made. "Do you even need to ask, idiot?"

"Is that a yes?"

"I say it's a thousand times yes." Pepper smiled.

That was when they kissed. It was no peck on the cheek, it was no peck on the lips; instead, it was a full on the lips, a minute lasting kiss. Where everything beyond them disappeared and all that matter was them, and that they were finally reunited and nothing could separate them.

"I love you, Pep." Tony said, when he pulled away.

"I love you too."

They kissed again, and again, and again.

It was like they had fallen in love, once again.

**I feel strangely proud of this chapter. Maybe it has something to do with the SEVEN pages and over 3,000 words that was written in all of 6 hours! :D Craziness right? Oh well, at least I love writing! **

**Fun Fact: _I don't know what I would do if there wasn't a Game Stop. Not to mention writing. _**

**On the topic of Game Stop, I went there today, and bought two new games. Dragons Dogma and Bioshock 1 and 2. Which by the way, was it a bad idea to get Bioshock? Apparently, it gave my OLDER brother nightmares for 2 whole weeks. Though maybe that was because he was playing it in a dark basement, and in the middle of the night...Oh well, i can scare my friend this way. :P **

**Don't forget to vote on my poll if you haven't! **

**Hugs and Love, SilverPedals! **

**P.S. If you guys don't ever see me again, know I died of nightmares or fright! (That will either happen, or I'll get a ton of creepy idea's for stories) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, sorry for the long wait! I've been working hard on homework, which you guys, I'm really happy right now because I'm getting mostly A's in my classes, and I Aced my Geography test! Though, that's no excuse, I've been really lazy lately, and I think I might be coming down with something...**

**I think you guys will like this chapter! It was SUPPOSED to be the last chapter, but you know, plans change...and the next one SHOULD be the last one. Though, this one's hopefully incredibly adorable!**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine...wait haven't I said this before?**

She ran her fingers through her hair, yawning quietly. She was extra exhausted, but she couldn't let herself fall asleep. It was late at night, past midnight; the moon high, the stars bright. It was also super quiet.

It was also, Christmas as of an hour ago. Meaning snow covered the ground, snow fell from the skies, anyone could see their own breath, and get runny noses. It wasn't ideal, but no winter ever was. It was just plain cold outside, a time consuming job when you had to shovel out the driveway, and wet. Though, she still loved winter either way.

One of the main reasons why she loved it so much, was because the memories they carried.

_(Flashback)_

_Snow blanketed the ground beneath them. Everything was just pure, and nothing but white. Children played, adults shoveled, and dogs ran. It was winter and just about a week away from Christmas. _

_Two kids, at the age of 8, stood hand in hand. Once again, they met up at the park they met at. Their park. The boy's father not far behind them, conversing with the girl's father. _

"_C'mon Tony! Don't be so slow!" The girl, shouted, tugging him along to the park. _

_Tony rolled his eyes, but smiled and picked up the pace. The snow packed down under their feet, making crunching sounds. Soon enough, the two found themselves standing at the top of the slide. _

"_Ladies first!" Tony gestured, smiling. _

"_Nah, you go!"_

_Tony shrugged and went to go down only the girl, Pepper, decided to push him down. Causing the boy to slip and go face first down the slippery slide and into a pile of snow at the bottom, as he screamed out. _

_She couldn't stop laughing. She was holding her stomach tightly, almost falling down in the process as she laughed her head off. Unfortunately for her, she was too busy laughing to even realize that the other had already gotten over his surprise. Therefore, giving him that much more time to get back up on the park equipment and next to her again. By then, the _poor_ girl wasn't done laughing._

_Giving him the _perfect_ chance to get revenge. _

"_AHHH!" She screamed as she noticed that she too had been sent down the slide face first. _

_She stood up, red in the face out of both embarrassment and coldness. "TONY!"_

_Now it was Tony's turn to laugh his head off. Unluckily, the boy didn't get so much time to laugh, for the redheaded girl was now stomping her way back to where he stood on the equipment. So, in a hurried motion, he rushed off over a bouncy-like bridge, and to a higher ground. As he 'ran' away from a steaming Pepper, he was still laughing. _

"_When I get to you…" Pepper shouted._

"_What?" Tony called going down the second slide. "You going to throw snow in my face?"_

"_If that's what it takes!" _

_Tony laughed and packed snow into a ball, and waited. "Okay, I'll let you do it!" He called up to where she was climbing. Hiding the ball of snow behind his back, he smiled innocently as Pepper looked down at him. _

_She narrowed his eyes at him. "What are you up to?"_

"_Nothing," He answered. "What would make you think that I was up to something?"_

"_Show me your hands!" _

"_No."_

"_I'm not coming down there, until I see some hands!" _

_Tony smiled and shrugged. "Okay." He showed her his hands, which held the snowball. Then as fast as he could, he threw it towards her, only nicking the edge of her shoulder. _

"_I _knew_ it!" She shouted, rushing down the slide. _

_Not long later, they were in a full blown snowball fight. At some point, they made snow forts and shields and hid behind those as the other attempted to surpass the shield with large snowballs. In the end, Pepper won, though it was said that Tony _let_ her win. Pepper didn't believe a word of it. _

_In the end, they made two snowmen, a bazillion snow angels, and tracks in the snow. They did that until it was time to go, and the sun was going down. _

_(End Flashback)_

A light tapping sound woke her up. She hadn't even realized that she had fallen asleep, let alone laid down. It was a familiar noise that she heard quite often. So she got up, gave the signal, and quickly and quietly, rushed outside. After she put a warm coat, gloves, and boots on.

Outside by her tree, as always, stood her boyfriend, Tony Stark.

"Tony!" She whisper-shouted.

"Hey, Pep!" He replied back, with a smile.

It was like usual. He'd always come to her house on weekends so they could spend more time together. Alone. They could do it any time they wanted, they just liked being out and about during the night, when the city is more quiet and lit up.

They'd done this for almost 2 and a half years by now. Tony was almost twenty years old while she was a few months into being 19. They graduated school not long ago, and decided to wait a year before thinking about college.

"What are we going to be doing today?" She asked, linking an arm through his.

"Uh…you'll see, it'll be fun!" Tony said patting her hatted head.

She smiled. "Are we going ice skating?"

She both felt and heard Tony chuckle. "You and I both know, that doing that would be like me trying to do the splits. I would end up hurting myself."

She laughed along. "Oh, what was I thinking?" She joked. "You and _ice-skates? _You would never!"

The rest of the walk was surprisingly quiet. Usually they found at least one thing to talk about, but Tony was not as talkative as usual. Given, he never really was the most talkative person, and someone normally had to be the one giving topics to actually talk about for him to have a full blown conversation. But when she didn't bring something up, his responses weren't as…worded as they usually were.

She let it slide, though, guessing it was because it was so cold out.

Soon, she found that they were actually going to the place of her memories. They were going to their park! The park where they met, the park where they played, hung out, joked, and laughed. The park that they found those bunnies at.

She could practically see the younger version of themselves running like nothing else mattered. Or the forts they built. Or the billion snowmen they made another day. The sliding, the swing, the sand digging, the memories.

She smiled. "Tony…what…"

"Shh!"

It was just like that day. The day he first showed up at her house. The one day that they went and saw that family of bunnies.

He led her over to one of the swings and gestured that she sit down, so she did. He stood behind her and began pushing her. Though, it was a bit hard with how high the snow was, but a bit later, the snow was pushed away and out of her feet's way. Making it so much easier to swing on.

She was curious why he chose to bring her here. Especially at night. They hadn't been there for so long, it was kind of sad seeing it again. Especially since some of the trees nearby had gone missing for a park building.

She decided to just enjoy being there. She smiled and laughed. She began talking to the ever-so-quiet other. Now that she thought about it, he was acting a bit weird. Sure, he was probably trying to hide it, but he looked incredibly nervous. Nervous and fidgety. There had to be something he was hiding. Whether it was something she should be worried about or not, she didn't know.

Her swing stopped almost abruptly, causing her to almost fall out, but Tony made sure she didn't fall.

"Thanks." She said, smiling.

He shrugged, his face reddening. Why?

He held out a hand for her to hold, and she happily grabbed hold of it. She asked him if they could make a snow man and she finally got him to respond without sounding so nervous, as if she was going to hurt him or something.

They made a snowman, using make shift objects for the eyes, nose, mouth, buttons, and arms. When they finished they completed it off with two snow angels just for fun in front of it.

"This was really fun!" Pepper said, smiling broadly. "We're definitely doing this again."

"Whatever you want, Pep." Tony replied, giving her a light kiss. "But, we're not done…"

There he was being fidgety again. "What?"

He smiled, his face turning an awfully dark shade of red. "Okay, Pep you're going to have to close your eyes."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why do I…"

"Just do it!" Tony insisted. "Oh! And…turn around!"

She did as she was told and closed her eyes as she turned around. She was immensely curious at why Tony was asking her to do this. She was naturally a curious person, so she wasn't exactly the most patient when it came to surprises. She wondered if it was a present. If so, what could it be?

"Tony?"

"No peeking!" He said almost shouting.

"I'm not!" She laughed noting how panicked he had sounded, he must really not want her to spoil the surprise. Which made her all the more curious. She could hear the sound of snow moving and the slight sound of rocks rubbing together and sticks breaking. What was he doing?

"Just…a moment…" She heard Tony drawl out, sounding incredibly concentrated.

The redhead wanted to peek, so badly! It had to have been at least five minutes, and her feet were starting to get cold. She could also feel the wind pick up, sending chills through her body. But, she knew she couldn't peek. It must be important, and it had to be the reason why Tony was so nervous. There was no doubt about it, it _had_ to be why.

"Keep your eyes closed." Tony's voice almost whispered to her. She felt his hands direct her to turn around and face him, or whatever it was he was doing. She kept her eyes closed, struggling slightly to keep them that way.

"Okay…open them…"

Her brown eyes opened slowly, but quickly. In front of her was the snowman that they made together. Though that's not what her eyes focused on. What her eyes were staring at, was what was written out of broken up sticks and rocks that Tony must have dug back up.

Her eyes widened, in shock. Her heart must have skipped a beat, maybe two.

"_Will you marry me, Pepper Potts?" _Was written where the mouth of the snowman used to be.

In front of the snow man, was Tony bent down on one knee, looking up at her. His hand wrapped around what she assumed was a ring.

She was left speechless. Speechless until she breathed out one word. "Tony…"

She noticed a bit of uneasiness spread across his face before he began to speak. "Before you say anything, I'd like to say something, is that alright?"

"O-of course…" Pepper spoke, still a bit breathless.

"We've known each other for a long time, and literally from the beginning, I've known that I've wanted to marry you." He paused. "And that's what I promised to you. I promised that when we got older, we would get married." He grabbed her hand and matched up their rings that they'd had since forever ago. "_We _promised, and with your permission, I'd like to make it official. So…" He paused once again, bowing his head slightly before he raised his head again. "Will you marry me?"

Pepper was once again speechless. Ever since she was a little girl she had always dreamed of the day she'd be proposed to. The day she finally got to marry Tony. She was always dreaming and wishing to be married. It sounded girly, but it's what she wanted more than anything. Even more so than becoming a Shield Agent.

And her she was, being proposed to, by the man she loved.

And yet, she didn't have a clue on what to do.

It must have been longer than she thought, because Tony was becoming visibly nervous and his face was reddening faster than a wildfire.

He looked as if he was about to take back what he said, but she put a hand over his mouth. More out of instinct than anything. She couldn't allow him to take it back. That meant they wouldn't get married, right?

Finally finding her voice, she screamed out, "YES! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! YES I will marry you!"

Now Tony was the one left speechless. Only moments later, were the two clinging onto each other as if their life depended on it. Both smiling and laughing, and practically cheering as loud as they could together.

It wasn't long later that the two had locked lips in a kiss. A very passionate kiss, which was filled with both of their love, excitement, and joy. As cold as it was outside, it didn't faze them at all. They just wished the gloves and coats weren't so thick.

Breaking apart, now sitting very closely, they smiled at each other, their breath heavy and visible. They kissed once more, and again, before one of them finally spoke.

"I love you so much, Pep."

"I love you to, Tony."

"Thanks…Pep." Tony smiled, shivering a bit. "For everything."

She smiled back at him, giving him another kiss. "No problem."

They spaced out a bit, before Tony grabbed her hand. His first slipped her first ring off, and placed it on the opposite hand's finger, then he slowly and carefully as if it was fragile, slipped the engagement ring on the rightful finger.

"It's official," Tony started.

"We're getting married." They both finished.

**Hopefully, it didn't get too cheesy or cliche, but what can you do? I'm not the best at writing marriage proposals, but I think I did a good job. **

**Like I said, the next chapter should be the last one. And expect it to be somewhere in the future. Like many years ahead. Unless you guys have an idea, I'll gladly look into it!**

**Fun Fact: _I'm like the oddball in my family. I'm like the only person in my family who likes bored games, is incredibly obsessed with Marvel, hates throwing away old stuff, can sleep for 14 hours and still fall asleep in a few hours, and the only person who writes...But I like it! :D_**

**For anyone who's curious, I'M STILL ALIVE! (Obviously) Bioshock has yet to kill me! :D Why am I happy about that...?**

**Oh well...Anyways, I really want to update more stuff, and somehow manage to finish off a couple other stories. Like Day at a Bank, or Baby genius or In Loving Memory, or whatever. Cause they're close (should be) to being finished. **

**Well, Hugs and Love, SilverPedals! ^.0**


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